Good evening! The battle for the Blue Wall states got dialed up a notch today, with dueling campaign events in Wisconsin and Michigan. Here’s your Wednesday update.
‘Joyful Warriors’ Harris and Walz Hit the Midwestern Campaign Trail
Vice President Kamala Harris and her newly chosen running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, looked to build momentum for their ticket Wednesday by holding a large rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The Harris campaign said it had raised $36 million in 24 hours after the Walz selection was announced.
“As Tim Walz likes to point out, we are joyful warriors,” Harris told the crowd.
Republican Sen. JD Vance also held an event in Eau Claire, as his schedule plays off that of the Democratic ticket.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, wasn’t out on the campaign trail, and he doesn’t have any rallies scheduled before a Friday night event in Montana. He did, however, call into “Fox & Friends” Wednesday morning, and he claimed to be “thrilled” by the “shocking” choice of Walz, who he called “very, very liberal” and a “smarter version” of Harris.
“This is a ticket that would want this country to go communist immediately, if not sooner,” Trump claimed baselessly. “We want no security. We want no anything. He's very heavy into transgender. Anything transgender he thinks is great, and he's not where the country is on anything.”
The energy behind the new Democratic ticket is unmistakable, though. Harris and Walz followed up their rally in Wisconsin with one in Detroit, near where Vance started the day.
Quote of the Day
“I can see the political calculations behind this proposal, but from a tax fairness perspective and a generation fairness perspective, it is a very bad proposal.”
– Romina Boccia, director of budget and entitlement policy at the libertarian Cato Institute, discussing former President Donald Trump’s idea of eliminating income taxes on Social Security benefits. Trump’s proposal could cost the government up to $1.8 trillion over 10 years, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, but the GOP leader argued in a recent Fox Business interview that he would cut some costs elsewhere and that advancing the insolvency of the Social Security trust fund would just force politicians to deal with the problem. Boccia, quoted in a New York Times article examining Trump’s series of casual calls for a variety of tax cuts that would sharply reduce federal revenues, argues that eliminating taxes on Social Security would shift the cost burden to younger workers.
Former Treasury Secretary Says It’s Time to Eliminate 20-Year Treasuries
Four years ago, then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin started issuing Treasury bonds with a 20-year duration, with the goal of locking in low rates for as much U.S. debt as possible at the time. But sales of the 20-year bond have been lackluster, resulting in higher rates than expected. According to calculations by Bloomberg’s Ye Xie, Liz Capo McCormick and Saleha Mohsin, the bond’s higher rates have added $2 billion a year in interest expense compared to what the Treasury would have paid on more conventional bonds in 10- and 30-year durations.
“This is, at some level, peanuts for a government that spends almost $7 trillion annually,” the Bloomberg team writes. “And yet, $2 billion goes a long way. It’s the same amount the government spends each year to operate the national park system, and more than what goes to home-buying assistance for military veterans.”
Experts say the 20-year bond is less attractive due to a lack of liquidity compared to 10- and 30-year alternatives. And some think it should be eliminated – including the man responsible for reviving it after a 30-year hiatus. “I would not keep issuing them,” Mnuchin told Bloomberg. “It’s just costly to the taxpayer.”
Number of the Day: $8.4 Billion
The Inflation Reduction that Democrats pushed through Congress in 2022 enhanced tax credits for homeowners who invest in energy efficiency. According to IRS data, more than 3.4 million households claimed $8.4 billion worth of those credits in 2023 — more than three times higher than projected when the legislation was enacted.
The tax credits help homeowners cover the cost of things like rooftop solar panels and electric heat pumps, which reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. While the credits have proven to be more popular than expected, they were claimed by just a sliver of filers — about 2.5% of taxpayers last year.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told reporters Tuesday that the tax credit program is expected to grow in popularity over the next few years. “In many ways the impacts of the [Inflation Reduction Act] are just getting started,” he said.
Most Americans Have Negative Views of Healthcare System: Poll
A majority of Americans view the U.S. healthcare system unfavorably, according to a the results of a YouGov survey published Tuesday. Just over 53% said they hold a “very or somewhat unfavorable” opinion of the system, compared to 40% who say they see it very or somewhat favorably.
Americans hold medical professionals in higher regard than the system overall, with doctors enjoying 78% favorability and nurses an even higher 87%. Still, the survey also found that 56% of Americans believe that patients very or somewhat often receive worse care from doctors due to their insurance plan. Only 28% disagreed.
Fiscal News Roundup
- Trump Dangles New Tax Cut Proposals With Real Political Appeal – New York Times
- Harris and Walz Say They’re ‘Joyful Warriors,’ Narrowly Miss Tarmac Confrontation With Vance – Associated Press
- Harris’ Blue-Collar Pitch: New Candidate, Same Pro-Labor Policies – Politico
- Trump Says He’ll Be Debating Harris ‘in the Pretty Near Future’ – The Hill
- Book With Project 2025 Ties and JD Vance Foreword Is Delayed Until After Election – New York Times
- Trump Took a Private Flight With Project 2025 Leader in 2022 – Washington Post
- Donald Trump's Plan Would Change Social Security for Millions – Newsweek
- Trump Wants to Cut Social Security Taxes for Seniors. It's Not as Good as It Sounds – Business Insider
- 18 House Republicans Ask Johnson Not to Target IRA Clean Energy Tax Credits – The Hill
- Dimon Says He’s Skeptical Inflation Will Return to Fed’s 2% Target – Bloomberg
- Federal Infrastructure Funding Is Fueling a Push to Remove Dams and Restore River Habitat – Associated Press
- Far Fewer in U.S. Regard Childhood Vaccinations as Important – Gallup
- Summer Covid Surge Hits at Least 84 Countries and Continues to Climb – Washington Post
Views and Analysis
- How Walz Will Inform the Harris ‘Care Economy’ Agenda – Sam Sutton, Politico
- Harris Chooses Comfort Food: Will America Bite? – Jonathan Martin, Politico
- It’s Getting Worse for Vance, Recent Polls Show – Aaron Blake, Washington Post
- Tim Walz Cut Taxes on Social Security in His State. Here’s How It Differs From Trump’s Proposal – Kate Dore, CNBC
- Dreaming Big Again – Robert Kuttner, American Prospect
- My Recession Rule Was Meant to Be Broken – Claudia Sahm, Bloomberg
- In the Data That Matters Most, So Far It's a Slowdown, Not Recession – Courtenay Brown and Neil Irwin, Axios
- The Stock Market Drama Was a Toddler Tantrum – Justin Wolfers, New York Times
- A Plan for Election-Year Rate Cuts Without the Political Chaos – Bruce Yandle, The Hill
- The Fentanyl Trade Is Killing Americans. We Have the Means to Combat It – Scott Gottlieb, New York Times